Religious Recognitions: A Deity Sanctuary Done Right

Can your organization benefit from a Donor Recognition Wall? The South Florida Hindu Temple did…three times over. 8 years ago we completed 2 major donor recognition walls for the temple. This past March, Smita Patel, Executive Director, contacted us once again. The assignment: prepare a recognition wall honoring contributors to the temple’s Deity Sanctuary renovation.

In case you were wondering, donor walls feature plaques and/or other inserts emblazoned with the names of people and organizations donating to the renovation project. Each donor category, from small gifts to large gifts, is organized in different sizes, shapes and colors.

As a company, we help churches, non-profits, universities and healthcare centers to not only design donor recognitions but also help outline their campaign objectives.

We asked Smita to share her organization’s budgeted construction and decorating costs. Based on those numbers, we outlined 6 target contribution amounts, from high to low. We then asked Smita and her team to take their membership roster and assign each member to one of these dollar categories, which we call “Levels of Giving.”

Once the names had been slotted into these dollar categories, we multiplied the name quantity by the dollar amount. The sum of the 6 categories is then quantified as to the number of donors. The total number of donors per category multiplied by the dollar amount equals the campaign goal.

The fundraising committee also identified items for sponsorship, i.e. the kitchen, library, alter, auditorium etc. and place a donation dollar value on each.

With the planning of fundraising complete, we asked Smita to identify high traffic locations within the temple for placement of the donor wall and forward us measurements and photos of those locations. The pictures provided a window into the proposed area to be used, helping us to design in an appropriate context and color palette.

From this information, we proceeded to conceptually design the recognition wall and send design samples to Smita. She was able to make comments, edits and changes to make the presentation more relevant to the temple’s style and philosophy.

In order to maintain continuity with the other recognition walls, we used the same materials: a combination of a maple wood background and Avonite (a solid surface material) in different plaque sizes, distinguishing the dollar amounts of major gifts. Brass was used in different plaque sizes to recognize all other contributions.

We decided to magnetically mount the plaques to eliminate the need for screws, providing a clean look. The magnetized plaques are easily removed for engraving and quickly re-mount after the plaque is inscribed.

The concept approval process was quick, and within 5 weeks of design approval, the deity recognition wall was crated and shipped to Florida. Three days later, our installation crew flew down from Philadelphia to install the wall.

We are happy to say that this product matched perfectly with the other walls we had previously installed.

This recognition wall, representing the campaign, has helped the temple exceed its financial goals.

If your organization contemplates a fundraising program, let B&D partner with you in making the campaign a success and donor recognition an enhancement to your facility.